Alicia Keys, “Time to Uncover”
Inspiration for Idea #2
Alicia Keys wrote a powerful essay called “Time to Uncover.” She underscored how young girls learn early that they “have to cover up to be a bit closer to perfect,” and she wrote songs about wearing masks and hiding.
Then she proclaimed, “I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul.” She did not return to wearing makeup until it was her choice.
And that’s the same position for this campaign: makeup is a choice, not a life sentence.
In that spirit, we proclaim:
Makeup-free Skincare.
Officially launching 03-01-27.
Read by Alicia Keys, Frances McDormand, Em Ford, or a similar influential personality with a distinctive voice.
We’ve been covering up since before we learned to drive. Brushing over. Concealing. Hiding. And putting on a face. And yeah, makeup is fine. And yeah, it can be fun. {i}When we want to wear it.{/i} But not when it’s camouflage. {br}It’s time to Uncover. To put down the concealer. To try something different. Reach for three formulas that make skin better over time. Because better skin needs less cover. Let’s put our best face forward. Uncovered.
Launches in social and paid media on Black Friday, culminating in an “uncovering” event in New York. We would blanket the city with wild postings (below): half-concealed faces and teaser copy. February 1 to 28. Wild postings all over New York: the top half of each face, a headline, a date, no logo.
February in New York. Comps.
A launch campaign in phases: Black Friday to March 1.
“Do you want to get Uncovered?” Women who wear makeup most days apply. Every accepted woman gets the three formulas free and uses her own combination for 60 days.
Sets ship in early December. Day 1 and day 30 check-ins. The casting shortlist comes from the women who stay with it.
Bare faces, no retouching, white seamless. Each woman’s combination of formulas is recorded for her poster. The film shoots the same week.
Half faces all over New York. The women post selfies next to their own posters, with only the date.
The first day of Women’s History Month. The women uncover their own posters at dawn. The brand manifesto film launches. Times Square runs the full faces.
Before sunrise on March 1, each woman goes to her own poster, in Times Square and across New York, and peels the cover off herself. Cameras on every wall. Press in Times Square.
February
March 1, after she peels it
Six ads that follow the rollout. Black Friday recruits the cast. In February the women post their own poster selfies, unboosted, with #ad #uncovered, so nothing on Instagram names Erythros before March 1. Paid Partnership ads start with the reveal on March 1. The last ad sells the formulas.
erythroslight We’re casting women who wear makeup most days. If you’re accepted, you get our three new formulas free, use your own combination for 60 days, and may see your face on a wall in New York in March. Paid, and only with your release.
60 days.
Three formulas.
One wall in New York.
dana.m That’s my face on a wall in New York. The rest of it shows up March 1. #ad #uncovered 03-01-27
erythroslight At dawn she peeled the cover off her own poster. Under it: her skin after 60 days on her own combination of our formulas. No retouching. #uncovered
Black Friday, she applied.
This morning, she uncovered herself
erythroslight The Cleanser, The Session Serum, and The Moisturizer. Fragrance-free, vegan, and made in the USA. Use one, two, or all three. Makeup stays a choice. #uncovered
The promotion that breaks after Uncovered. Women post a photo of the concealer they use, as it is, and tag @erythroslight with #RevealYourConcealer #ErythrosPartner. We DM a code for 25% off The Moisturizer, the formula that works on skin instead of covering it. She keeps her concealer. All we ask is to see it. The cast women from Uncovered post theirs first, and a countdown runs the week before.
Six ads built around one day. A countdown the week before, the launch and the cast women’s own posts on April 26, then the offer and the wall of revealed concealers through May 10.
erythroslight Today is National No Makeup Day. Post the concealer you use, as it is. Tag @erythroslight with #RevealYourConcealer #ErythrosPartner and we’ll DM you 25% off The Moisturizer. Keep the concealer. We only want to see it.
rae.k Six years with this one. It still lives in my bag. It just doesn’t come out every morning anymore. #RevealYourConcealer #ErythrosPartner
erythroslight The Moisturizer is our peptide and ceramide cream: three peptides, bakuchiol, ceramides, and niacinamide in one step. It’s made to make skin better over time, and better skin needs less cover.
erythroslight Since Monday, women have been posting the concealer they use. Tag yours with #RevealYourConcealer #ErythrosPartner and get 25% off The Moisturizer through May 10.
Comps. Handles are placeholders. Product renders are pre-production.